Rollable Display Translation Mechanism for Compact Foldable Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional portable communication devices, such as clamshell and slider devices, tend to be bulky due to their mechanical configurations, which limits their compactness and usability in various form factors.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a foldable dual housing assembly with two rollable displays that can extend to provide a nearly four times larger display area than the collapsed position, using translation mechanisms and sensors to adjust the blade assemblies for optimal viewing modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional mechanical configurations (clamshell or slider) are used, then the device can be folded or extended, but the device becomes bulky and loses compactness
Solution Approach 1:
The display is nested within the device housing in a rolled configuration. The display can be extended outward when needed and retracted into the housing when not in use, similar to a nested doll structure where one object fits within another. This allows the device to maintain a compact thickness while providing a large display area when extended.
Solution Approach 2:
The display transitions from a static fixed-size screen to a dynamic rollable display that can change its extended length. The translation mechanism enables the display to dynamically adjust between retracted and extended positions, allowing the device to adapt its form factor based on usage needs rather than being locked into a single configuration.
2Area of stationary object
If the display area is extended to provide larger viewing area, then the device becomes bulkier, but compactness is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The display is nested within the device housing in a rolled configuration. The display can be extended outward when needed and retracted into the housing when not in use, similar to a nested doll structure where one object fits within another. This allows the device to maintain a compact thickness while providing a large display area when extended.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing the display area by expanding the device in multiple dimensions (length, width, and thickness), the invention utilizes the dimension of time through the rolling mechanism. The display area can be expanded when needed and collapsed when not needed, effectively using temporal dimension to manage space constraints.
3Area of stationary object
If rollable displays are implemented to increase display area, then the device complexity increases with translation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces complex multi-component mechanical translation mechanisms with a simpler rolled display system. Instead of using traditional mechanical systems with multiple moving parts, the display is rolled around a drum or spool mechanism, significantly reducing mechanical complexity while achieving the same display extension function.
Solution Approach 2:
The display uses a flexible thin-film structure that can be rolled and unrolled. This flexible display technology eliminates the need for rigid mechanical support structures and complex translation mechanisms, reducing overall device complexity while enabling large display area expansion.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device, method, and computer program product respond to the electronic device extending flexible displays to a display area that can be almost four times larger than a collapsed position. A controller of the electronic device monitors a sensor configured to detect an unfolded open position of the dual device housing assembly and responds to a display positioning trigger to activate translation mechanisms that translate the blade assemblies in unison. While the dual device housing assembly is unfolded, two blade assemblies may be extended, either from sides opposite to a hinge of the dual device housing display or from adjacent sides, to increase the display area.